‘One Nation, One Election’ means all Indians will vote in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections – to pick central and state representatives – in the same year.
A highly polarising issue is gaining speed in India: one nation, one election. The committee on simultaneous elections to Parliament, state assemblies and local bodies led by former President Ram Nath Kovind, submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday.
What Is ‘One Nation, One Election’?
It means all Indians will vote in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections – to pick central and state representatives – in the same year, if not at the same time.
At present, there are a few that vote for a new state government at the same time as the country selects a new union government. These few are Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha, who are scheduled to vote at the same time as the April/May Lok Sabha election.
Maharashtra and Haryana will vote later this year, as will Jharkhand, while the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir must hold its first Assembly election in six years before September 30, in line with the recent Supreme Court order on restoration of statehood.
The rest follow a non-synced five-year cycle; Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana, for example, were among those voting at different times last year.
The main argument against the idea is that it will maginalise the regional and local concerns. In simultaneous polls, local and regional issues will be subdued by bigger national-level issues. This will lead to a homogenization of political discourse and make it difficult for smaller parties and states to put their ideas before the nation.
Legal experts have warned that failure to do so – by amending five Articles – will leave the proposal open to attack on charges of violating India’s federal structure.
These are Article 83 (term of Parliament), Article 85 (dissolution of Lok Sabha by the President), Article 172 (duration of state legislatures), and Article 174 (dissolution of state legislatures), as well as Article 356 (imposition of President’s Rule).